Take-up mechanism for knitting-machines



F. P. REYNOLDS. TAKE-UP MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I7| I920.

I Patented Oct. 11, 1921;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK P. REYNOLDS, OF NORRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO BALLARDKNITTING (30., OF NORRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN-SYLVAN IA.

" mn'xn or Mnorrnmsiu r01 KNITTING-amenities.

' Application filed May 17,

" the action of the device certainand eflicient under all conditions ofuse.

2 The inventionis shown'in the accompany ing drawings: in which: i I lFigure 1 is aside view of a takeup mecha nism embodying thei'nventi'on.Fig. 2 is a detail view with parts in section. Fig. 3 is a detail planview of the lower clutch member'and' portions of the upper clutchmember.

7 Fig. 4 is a side view of the clutch members.

Fig. 5 is-a perspective view of the lower clutch member. i

Fig. 6 is aperspective view of an operating lever. a

Figs. 7 and 8 are diagrams of the' two positions of the clutch members.

In the drawings 1, 2, are the take-up rolls journaled in the frame 3which is pivotally mounted at 4. The fabric passing down from theneedles goes between these rolls as is well known. The roll 2 has a wormwheel 5 mounted thereon. driven by a worm 6 through which extends. thedrive shaft 7. This shaft at its lower end has a gear 8 to mesh with acircular fixed rack, as in ordinary practice, by which the shaft 7 isdriven. The worm is provided with a clutch member 9 and the drive shaft7 has fixed thereto the upper clutchv member 10. This upper clutchmember has depending taper pins 11 to coact with-inclined shoulders 12on the lower clutch member 9. The vertical drive shaft 7 as a whole iscapable of vertical movement in its bearings and it carries with it theupper clutch member to raise or lower it bodily in relation to the lowerclutch member, the upper bearing for this Specification of LettersPatent. I

1920." Serial No. 382,006.

A lever'15 is pivoted at 16 to the outer end of the frame arm 14 andthis lever extends over the upper end of the shaft 7 andis con nected bya link17 with the pivoted frame 3 which as before stated, carries thetake-up rolls. The lever 15 is connected with the shaft 7 so as topositively lift the same, together with the upper clutch member, whenthe lever 15 moves upwardly due to theframe 3 moving in an upwarddirection when the take-up rollers tend to climb on the fabric owing tothe increased tension of the fabric between the take-up rolls and theneedles. The'lever 15 as in ordinary practice may be pressed downwardlyby a suitable spring or a weight may be usedfor this purpose. Theliftingconnection between the lever 15 and the upper clutch member mayassumediiferent forms, but in the particular. construction shown, Iemploy a" forked portion 18, cast integral with the lever which engagesunder the head 19 formed on the upper end of the'shaft 7 It will thus beseen that when the lever 15 moves upwardly due to the take-up rollsclimbing on the fabricwhen the tension increases, the fork lifts againstthe head 19 of the shaft and thus the shaft 7 will be Patented Oct. 11,1921.

lifted and the upper clutch member 10 will be raised so that its taperpins 11 will be withdrawn slightly from contact with the inclinedshoulders 12 on the lower clutch member 9 and therefore the worm willmomentarily be free from the driving shaft 7, and during this time thetension of the fab ric will be restored to normal condition owing to thecontinuation of the knitting at the needles. When the tension isrestored to normal condition, the take-up rolls weighing on the fabricwill move downwardly with the fabric and link 17 will draw down upon thelever 15 and thus the shaft 7 will be lowered and the upper clutchmember will bring its pins 11 into driving contact again with theshoulders of the lower clutch member and the rotation of the take-uprolls will ensue.

It will be noticed that a slight lift on the upper clutch member willwithdraw the taper surface of the pin from contact with the inclinedshoulder on the lower clutch member, but that the faces of these partswill remain opposite each other, in the sense that in maintaining theincline of the taper pin in the same horizontal plane with the lug onthe lower clutch member. .The clutch-members, presenting as they do,metal to metal contactaparts-are not subject to changes due toatmospheric conditions and will not be affected adversely by thepresence of oil as V is the casewith the fiber disks. The connectionbetween the lever 15 and the, clutch being a positive one adaptedtopositively lift the upper clutch member lends itself .to efficient andsensitive cooperation with a clutch having metal to metal contact meansfurnished by thetaper pins and the inclined facedlugs. flhe shaft is ofordinary con struction th oughout, no slotting required and ie-pressurepin or spring enters into the present construction. l 7

It will be observed thatthe lower clutch member is in the general formof a frustum of acone and thatthe inclined shoulders 12 are formed bycutting away the conical body. These shoulders incline downwardly andoutwardly and conform with the general inclination of the side face ofthe frusto-conical member and the taper. pins. The shoulders are formedby the lateral edges .of the projections 12 whose outer faces also areof the same degreeof outwardanddownward inclination with the generalconical shape of the lower clutch member. The bearing contact of thetaper pins takes place throughout the entire length of the shoulder 12,the engagement being uniform at all points thus giving a long wearingcontact. V

V i The taper pins are-formed separatelyefrom the main body of the upperclutch member and have reduced shanks which are held in socketsoropenings of said main body by a driving fit or otherwlse.

It will be understood that the structure ofthe parts disclosed herein isillustrative of my invention and is not to be regarded as limiting theinvention, the scope of which isdefined by the appended claims.

A comparison of the diagrams Figs. 7 and 8 will illustrate the action ofthe clutch in its two positions, one, Fig, 7 being its drivingpositionand the other, Fig. 8, its released position. These diagrams representthe lower clutch member as cut through at a horizontal planeintermediate of its height, the same horizontal plane of cut beingrepresented in each figure. The inclined peripheral face of the lowerclutch member below the plane of cut is not shown, the views asabovestated, being in the nature of diagrams. J

In Fig. 7, the taper pin is in its lowest position and the line ofsection upon whichthe view is taken passes through lower member 9 andthe pin, at the same level, and consequently the pin is shown as bearingwith its curved side face against the shoulder 12.

In Fig. S'theline of sectionofthe parts being at the same level as inFig. 7 the lower clutch member appears'the sameas in Fig. 7, but becausethe taper pin'is slightly raised in this view the line ofsection cutsthis pin at a zone on tl'i'e'pin ofsmaller diameter than in Fig. 7 andtheslight crack or space appears between its curved side face and theshoulderrl 2. This same crack or 'spacefit will be obvious, occursthroughout the length of the taper: pin,and "thus momentarily, the taperpin isout of driving contact with the inclined shoulder 12" and-hencethe take-up rolls for the moment will cease their rotation until acourse or courses of knitting are delivered from the needles and thetension contact with the lower clutch member, as 7' shown in Fig. '7,for again driving the take up mechanism.

As just indicated, the cessation of the driving function of the clutchmay be of a duration until a course or courses ofknitting are deliveredfrom the needles. Tl' erefo're the outer or radially disposed faces ofthe shoulders of the frusto-conical lower-clutch member are inclineddownwardly and outwardly in conformity with the general incline of thesides of this member for the purpose of allowing the taper pin to crossthelouter face of the shoulder when said taper pin is lifted far enoughto permit this action to take place, and thus sufiicient fabric will beknit off, while thetake-up is at rest, to relieve the tension. In thislifting movement, however,'the taper pin will remain in the samehorizontal'plane withtheshoulder as above describedpor in other words,the taper pin and the shoulder will be cut by the sameagain lower,engage a shoulder and resume its driving function.

This case is substituted forthat filed by me August 19th, 1919, SerialNo. 318,450. I claim as my invention: P 1 1. In eombination'in a take-upfor knitting machines, a pair of take up rolls, a movable supporttherefor, "aworm and worm wheel for driving the take-up rolls, 'aclutchmember connected withthe'wo'rm having an inclined I shoulder, a driveshaft extending up through the worm, a clutch member fixed on the driveshaft to move vertically there with, having a taper pin to coact withthe inclined shoulder on the clutch member first mentioned, a leverconnected with the movable support of the take-up rolls and operating toeffect a positive llfting action on the upper clutch member to releasethe side face of the taper pin from the inclined shoulder when thesupport of the take-up rolls moves upwardly, substantially as described.

2. In combination in a take-up mechanism for knitting machines, take-uprolls, a worm and worm wheel for driving the take-up rolls, a driveshaft, and a clutch between said drive shaft and the worm, comprising amember driven by the shaft and having a taper projection dependingtherefrom and a complementary member on the worm to be engaged by theinclined side of said taper projection, substantially as described.

3. In combination in a take-up mechanism for knitting machines, take-uprolls, a worm and worm wheel for driving the take-up rolls, a driveshaft, and a clutch between said drive shaft and the worm, comprising amember driven by the shaft and having inclined surfaces and acomplementary member on the worm to be engaged by the inclined surfaces,said complementary member having inclined shoulders, said surfaces andshoulders when separated to retard the drive, remaining in the samehorizontal plane, substantially as described.

4. In combination in a take-up mechanism for knitting machines, take-uprolls, a worm and worm Wheel for driving the take-up rolls, a driveshaft and a clutch between the said drive shaft and the worm, comprisinga member driven by the shaft and having taper pins with their axisparallel with the shaft and a complementary member on the worm havingshoulders inclining outward and downward in conformity with the inclinedside of the taper pins, substantially as described.

In combination in a take-up for knitting machines, take-up rolls, a wormand worm wheel for driving the take-up rolls, a drive shaft and a clutchbetween the said drive shaft and the worm comprising a member driven bythe shaft and having taper pins with their axis parallel with the shaftand a complementary member on the worm consisting of a frusto-conicaldisk provided with relatively high and low parts furnishing shouldersinclining outward and downward in conformity with the inclined side ofthe taper pins, substantially as described.

6. In combination in a take-up mechanism for knitting machines, take-uprolls, a worm and worm wheelfor driving the take-up rolls, a driveshaft, and a clutch between said drive shaft and worm, comprising amember driven by the shaft, and a member fixed to the worm, said membershaving relative movement in the direction of their common axis, one ofsaid members having a shoulder inclined to the line of relative movementof the members and the other member having a complementary inclinedface, said inclined shoulder and complementary face being cut by thesame horizontal plane in both their released and driving relations.

7. In combination, in a take-up mechanism for knitting machines, take-uprolls, a worm or worm wheel for driving the take-up rolls, a driveshaft, and a clutch between said drive shaft and worm comprising amember driven by the shaft and having taper pins depend: ing therefromat different points about the same, and a frusto-conical member on theworm having its conical face provided with hi h and low parts formingshoulders complemental in inclination to the side faces of the taperpins and against which shoulders the taper pins bear in driving the saidfrusto-conical member, and means for raising and lowering the membercarrying the taper pins to release and set the drive, said taper pinsand shoulders being cut by the same horizontal plane in both theirreleased and driving relations.

8. In combination in a take-up mechanism for knitting machines, take-uprolls, a worm or worm wheel for driving the take-up rolls, a driveshaft, and a clutch between said drive shaft and worm comprising amember driven by the shaft and having a taper pin depending therefrom,and a frusto-conical member on the Worm having its conical face providedwith high and low parts forming shoulders complementary in inclinationto the side faces of the taper pin and means for raising and loweringthe member carrying the taper pin, the outer inclined faces of theshoulders permitting the taper pin to pass across them when the drive isreleased, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

FRANK P. REYNOLDS.

